Wishing you a blessed & joyful Easter!

JLG boom lifts and scissor lifts were used to set up lighting for the 2013 Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Night Parade.

Find out more about this cosmopolitan celebration of Chinese New Year here:
http://bit.ly/SYSfZK

Thousands lined the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui to witness a spectacle of dazzling performers from home and abroad, as the whole harbour-front area turned into a giant outdoor party. This is the event’s 18th year — an auspicious number in Chinese — and the theme was happy@hongkong.

Take a look at the site manager’s role in getting the safety message across to those who need it most at the job site.

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cygnus/ipaf_201208/#/10

Painted by Fernando Cepeda, Alberto Rico and Van Hecht-Nielsen

Bruce Willis was immortalized on a very large wall on the Fox studios lot in honor of 25 years of the “Die Hard” movie franchise. Willis’ character, John McClane will be back in theaters on February 14 with the 5th installment: “A Good Day to Die Hard.” Willis was on hand to hit the plunger which set off a string of fireworks and dropped a large banner revealing the artwork. The larger-than-life mural captures a scene from the original 1988 “Die Hard” film that cemented Willis as a Hollywood action hero. Willis said he was a bit overwhelmed by the portrait. The mural, which was inspired by a clip from the original film, will have a permanent home on the side of Stage 8 at Fox Studios in Los Angeles. For Willis, he’s still coming to terms with the idea that his version of John McClane is 25 years old.

A new year gets us thinking about a fresh start, doesn’t it. And invariably, it’s our behaviour that we resolve to change – living a healthier lifestyle, doing more for charity or setting more time aside to meet friends, for example. Personally, I want to get fit and lose a little weight.

But what if you’re a managing director of a company? You may well be thinking about your own calorie intake and gym membership, but you’re also responsible for the behaviour of others, namely your staff at work.

The behaviour of people when at work is influenced by an organisation’s culture. Every business has a culture, whether it’s created consciously or not. Attitudes and behaviours rub off, so patterns emerge in the way colleagues make decisions about how to do things.
So if the New Year is a time to make business resolutions, can I suggest this one: Make good health and safety an integral part of your organisation’s culture.

It is that time of year when CEOs and finance directors are finalising budgets. They are resolving to re-evaluate investments, no doubt, and generate more sales. Cutting costs is an obvious resolution.

But investing in health and safety and embedding it in the culture of your organisation will reap rewards. You might send a manager on a health and safety course. You could ensure health and safety is always an item on your meeting agendas. You could stipulate in your tendering process for contracts that suppliers must match your business’s own high standards.

And how do you make this resolution stick? You make the creation of a safe and healthy work culture a collaborative process. If everyone in your business understands your values and buys into them, then your refined culture will endure.

Then don’t be surprised in 2013 if you see a fall in absenteeism, a drop in accidents, a rise in productivity and an increase in your profits.

Here’s to a happy, healthy, safe and productive New Year for us all.

Caroline Holden, IOSH Executive Director – Commercial

Article source: http://ioshblog.tumblr.com/post/39922049546/make-good-health-and-safety-an-integral-part-of-your

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has introduced a S$250-million Construction Productivity and Capability Fund (CPCF) as part of the Governments efforts to help the construction industry improve productivity and strengthen its capability. The Fund comprises incentive schemes that focus on workforce development, technology adoption and capability development in Singapores built environment:

What Is It?

The Mechanisation Credit (MechC) scheme helps to defray the cost incurred in technology adoption by companies to improve productivity for their construction projects.

Who is it for?

A contractor, specialist contractor or subcontractor firm incorporated and operating in Singapore will be eligible.

What is it For?

The Mechanisation Credit scheme defrays the cost of technology adoption purchasing or leasing equipment – that improves productivity by at least 20%. The Scheme is targeted at construction firms (especially subcontractors) who are looking to using machines and equipment to improve work processes.

For more visit, please visit: http://www.galmon.com/news/up-to-50-funding-when-you-purchase-a-new-aerial-work-platform-mechanisation-credit-mechc-fund-2-2941

Implementing A Fall Prevention Plan

• A fall prevention plan is a site specific plan that is designed to be integrated into the Safety and Health Management System. It provides a systematic approach towards eliminating or reducing the risk of falling from height by ensuring that all reasonable fall prevention and protection measures and methods have been taken prior to the commencement of the work.
• All workplaces engaged in activities that require workers to work at height shall develop and implement a fall protection plan to ensure the safety of the workers during their course of the work.
• The fall prevention plan is to be developed by a competent person. Provisions must also be made for adequate supervision to ensure that the plan is being implemented at the workplace.
• The fall prevention plan shall be monitored and reviewed periodically to ensure its relevancy and effectiveness. It is also required to be properly documented and kept readily available  at the workplace.

Components of a Fall Prevention Plan

• The fall prevention plan should be customized to address the unique conditions at individual workplaces.
• A comprehensive fall prevention plan should include (but not be limited to) the following components:
  1. Policy for fall prevention
  2. Responsibilities
  3. Hazard identification and risk assessment
  4. Control measures / methods
  5. Procedures
  6. Personal fall prevention and protection equipment
  7. Inspection and maintenance
  8. Training
  9. Incident investigations
  10. Emergency preparedness

Policy for Fall Prevention

• A policy for fall prevention will set clear and unambiguous terms on the organisation’s approach and commitment towards fall prevention.
• Top management with executive or site responsibility shall define, endorse and document its policy for fall prevention. The policy for fall prevention shall be appropriate to the needs, nature and scale of the organisation’s activities and work at height risks.
• The organisation shall establish a policy which demonstrates its commitments to prevent falls from height incidents, comply with applicable legal and other requirements.
• It is important that the policy for fall prevention is understood, implemented and maintained at all levels of the organisation. The policy for fall prevention should be reviewed periodically and amended as as when necessary.

The above information is from the “Code of Practice for Working Safely at Height“, published by the Workplace Safety and Health Council (WSHC) of Singapore. For more info, please visit www.wshc.sg or email contact@wshc.sg 

TGIF!!! It’s the end of the week and we’d love to hear from you! Send us your thoughts here: www.galmon.com/testimonials

*Above photo shows a Galmon Teletower. Watch a video demonstration of the  World’s 1st Mobile Access Telescopic Teletower here.

Article By: Michael Roth, mroth@rermag.com

For the past four or five years we have devoted our March issue of RER to the topic of aerial safety, and we’re doing it again with this issue. Why the focus on aerial safety in this magazine devoted to equipment rentals? Falls from height continue to be the leading cause of accidents leading to injuries and deaths on jobsites, and lack of training and familiarization when it comes to aerial equipment is the biggest contributor.

Part of the problem continues to be lack of attention to safety detail on the part of rental companies that rent out aerial equipment to people who are untrained or unfamiliar with its operation.

I always remember a former JLG executive commenting to me how surprised he was when he got involved in the aerial industry to realize that obviously a car rental agency wouldn’t rent a car to somebody without a drivers’ license, yet rental companies rent a 135-foot boom lift to people who show no proof that they are trained to operate it. You can’t drive a car but you can raise somebody 135 feet in the air and move that lift around. Yeah, that makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

Aerial equipment has really become the leading type of equipment in the rental industry, and the vast majority of rental companies depend on aerial rentals for their success. Now I’ve visited hundreds of rental companies and I’ve talked with thousands of rental people and I know that most of you are aware of the importance of aerial safety. But still I know all too well that sometimes your attention to safety details is not what it should be. I know because I hear about too many accidents, and I see too many machines being rented to people who lack the qualifications. Too often attention to safety detail just gets overlooked in the course of a busy business day, with the need to move as many units out the door and get as high a utilization as possible.

I know you’re doing your best, but again I ask you to please take a few minutes and read through Brandey Smith’s “20 Tips to Cultivate an AWP Safety Culture.” I’m sure there is something you can learn to make your business operations safer. If you get one tip that you can use, it will be worth it. Not only might it save a life or prevent an injury, but it might protect you from lawsuits, and make it easier for you to sleep at night knowing your company is doing all it can do to ensure aerial safety on the jobsite.

So please, take 15 minutes, turn to page 22 and read. That’s not too much to ask. And if you can think of any good tips that we’ve overlooked, go to your e-mail and send them in to us. As long as there are accidents out there, we’ll revisit this topic over and over again.

Thanks for taking the time.

I’ve written in the past about the Lift & Access Showcase event held annually in Arizona. The event features a series of walk-around presentations where manufacturers give in-depth presentations about the features of the equipment they make, with an opportunity for attendees to examine the machines up close. Additionally, there is a demo area where manufacturers can demo the machines and attendees can have the opportunity to try them out themselves, and some great seminars and networking events.

I’ve been attending the Showcase for the past four years and each time I liked it more. Now I’m proud to say that RER, with parent company Penton Media, will be co-sponsoring the event and participating in the planning for it. And this year the scope of the event will be expanded dramatically. The showcase will be co-located with Ritchie Bros.’ auction at its permanent auction site in Orlando, Fla., in October. So attendees at the Showcase can also participate in the Ritchie Bros. auction — so if you see a piece of machinery at the Showcase that interests you, there might even be a used one for sale at the auction. And if you haven’t attended a Ritchie Bros. auction, you’re definitely missing a fascinating experience, not to mention the possibility of picking up on a good deal.

Also this year’s Showcase will go beyond its traditional focus on aerial equipment, with exhibitors showing earthmoving equipment, light towers, compressors, generators and a whole lot more. At the risk of being overly promotional, we’ll be talking more about the event in the coming months, so please consider coming out to Orlando in October!

Article from: Rental Equipment Register
 © 2012 Penton Media Inc.